Death Star Cake

 Well, another year has gone by, and in keeping with the Star Wars theme, this year hubby wanted a Death Star cake for his birthday. (Last year it was R2D2.) So I set off on my mission to make him his cake and this is what I came up with.  I used a spherical cake pan to bake both halves of the cake, then covered them both with fondant. The panels were also cut from fondant and I piped on the details in royal icing.

I made the TIE and X-wing fighters out of gum paste and attached them to wires. Then I inserted the wires into a flower pick that I had placed into the top of the cake. (Never attach wires directly into a cake please.)

And so the cake was done, hubby was pleased and all is well in our galaxy lol. Until next year...I wonder what the next cake will be.

Happy baking! :)

My students' cakes

I have just completed teaching two classes in Basic Cake Decorating and I wanted to share some of my students' cakes.  They were very pleased with the results, as was I.  We all had a lot of fun together and I hope they all carry on baking and decorating. :)

I'm so proud of all of them!  :)

Make-up bag cake

This has been my project for the last week.  I have seen so many ideas on make-up bag cakes and they look so sweet I wanted to make one too.  I was also inspired by the make-up bag cake in Debbie Brown's 50 Easy Party Cakes book.

It was a lot of fun making the lipstick, nail varnish and the other make-up pieces out of fondant and very easy to do!  The bag was made with a dummy cake as I wanted to keep this project but if you made it with a real cake then just cut off about one-third of a round cake to get the same shape.

I had lots of fun making this project and I hope it inspires you to try it too.  If you have made a make-up cake, or are wanting to try it out, I would love to hear from you!

Happy decorating! :)

Monica

Mocha walnut cupcakes

I was reading through one of the cake decoration magazines and came across a recipe for a coffee cake.  Now I don't really drink coffee, I am more a tea person, however, I do love the smell of coffee in cakes so I decided to make some and try them out.  I also added some cocoa powder and walnuts to the cake to make it more to my taste and I loved how it turned out.  The coffee glaze added just the right touch to the cupcakes.  I just have to remember not eat this before bedtime, or I'll be bouncing off the walls! 

Do you like coffee cakes?  

Dark Chocolate Brownie {Recipe}

If you like dark chocolate like I do, then you will really enjoy making these brownies.   They are decadent and moist and will definitely hit the spot!  They are also very quick and easy to make - another bonus!  I made them for a last minute dinner invitation and they went down a treat served warm with some cold vanilla icecream.  Yummy!

Here is the recipe for all you dark chocolate lovers:

Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe

250g butter
150g dark chocolate (I used 72% cocoa - yes 72! but you can use whatever you prefer)
3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar (packed firmly)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (sifted)
1/4 cup self raising flour (sifted)
Handful of dark chocolate chips - more dark chocolate, why not? :) (optional)
Handful of chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.  Line a square pan with baking paper, slightly greased.  (I used a 20cm square pan.)
2. Place butter and chocolate in a bowl and place over a pot of hot water.  Stir until melted.  Leave aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar til light and fluffy.  Add the chocolate mixture.  Mix to combine.
4. Add both flours and fold into the mixture.  If using chocolate chips or walnuts, add them in as well.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch.  Allow to cool completely in the pan.
6. Cut into slices. Serve slightly warmed with cold vanilla icecream.

Enjoy! :)